Unconditional Love
by MissFiyerabaMeponineSherlock
Summary: Marius loves Éponine with all of his heart. Will her answer be yes when he decides to propose?


**Here, have some Meponine fluff.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Mis or the characters... also, I don't think I need to say this, but I don't own France. Sorry.**

Tonight was the night. The night Marius Pontmercy would propose to Éponine Thénardier, his best friend and the girl he loved. He had loved her for a while now, since the night many years ago when she had nearly died for him at the barricade. It was then, when he had nearly lost her, that he had realised how much he needed her, how much he loved her. She was his world, she was his sun, she was his everything. And he loved her with all of his heart. He still remembered the day that he first told her of his love for her...

_Marius offered Éponine his arm as they walked through the moon-lit streets of Paris one night. It was a chilly autumn night and Éponine was visibly shivering. Marius removed his jacket and wrapped it around her slim shoulders. She smiled before taking his arm again. He loved it when she smiled. In general, Éponine did not smile much, yet Marius always seemed to be able to trigger a smile or, on occasion, a laugh. Her laugh... it sounded like music to him. It was his favourite sound. It wasn't high pitch or lady-like as Cosette's was. Éponine had a deeper, heartier laugh. And her laughter was contagious. Whenever she would laugh, he would start to laugh. Those moments were some of the happiest of his life. Merely being with Éponine made him happy. He knew that he loved her._

_"Hey 'Ponine?"_

_"Oui, Monsieur?"_

_"I love you." he said it casually, the same way he would have said 'hello'. She stopped walking. He stopped and turned to face her._

_"Wh-what?" she asked, hardly daring to believe it._

_"I love you." he repeated. Éponine was at a loss for words. Could the man she loved for so long really love her back? Could she, Éponine Thénardier, actually be worthy of his love? "If you don't feel the same way that's fine... I... I understand, it's–" Éponine cut him off with a kiss. Marius smiled and wrapped his arms around her, holding her to the kiss. She ran her fingers through his hair. Their lips moved together perfectly, as if they were meant to be. "I love you." he murmured._

_"I love you too." she replied._

Marius looked at the small black box that he held in his hand. Inside was the ring that he planned to give to Éponine. The ring had belonged to his mother, Dénise Gillenormand. It had been her engagement ring, given to her by none other than Georges Pontmercy. It was a beautiful ring. It was a silver band, laced with sapphires. Marius placed the black box in his pocket and waited for Éponine to arrive. He pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. 6:55. She'd agreed to meet him at 7. Marius started to feel a bit nervous. What if she said no? Marius tried not to think about that. Instead he thought about Éponine. He thought about how beautiful she was. How her hazel eyes, that could never decide whether they wanted to be brown or green, sparkled when she laughed, how they always seemed to have a mischevious glint in them. How her reddish brown hair always smelled like rain. Éponine liked the rain.

_Marius was walking Éponine home after a night at the theatre. It had taken him awhile to convince her to let him buy her a ticket, but she'd given in. It had been a fun night. They had gone to see a translation of some British play. Éponine had been entranced by all of the colourful costumes. Marius had watched her more than the actual play. Marius looked over at Éponine who was walking next to him. She grinned at him and he smiled back. Then it started to rain–no, not rain, pour. It started to pour. Marius started to walk a bit faster, not wanting to get wet. Éponine, however, slowed down. She tilted her head back to let the rain fall on her face. Marius, who had walked quite a bit ahead of Éponine, stopped and waited for her._

_"We're going to get soaked." Marius said._

_"That's okay." Éponine replied with a grin. "I like the rain." She began to twirl around. Marius couldn't help but smile. She really did like the rain. "Dance with me, Monsieur." she said as she grabbed his hands. Marius twirled her around and then pulled her close. He placed his left hand on her hip and he held her right hand with his other. Her left hand rested on his shoulder. Éponine smiled radiantly. Marius kissed her softly. She kissed him back and then rested her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat as they danced. They didn't need music, the rain took care of that. They didn't care that they were soaking wet, they were together and that was all that mattered to them._

Marius checked his watch again. 6:59. She'd be there any minute now. Marius continued to wait. While he waited, he thought of what he planned to say to her. He had planned a complete speech. He waited and waited. She didn't show. At 7:30, just as he was about to give up and go home, Éponine came running up to him. She was out of breath and her face was tear stained. She wrapped her scrawny arms around him, tears falling from her eyes. Marius held her close.

"'Ponine, what happened?" he asked her softly.

"M-My f-father nearly s-sold me to... to the d-docks..." she told him, her voice shaking. Marius gasped. "I b-barely got away."

"It's okay, shh, it's okay. You're okay now." he murmured to her. She was shaking quite a bit. Marius continued to hold her.

Neither of them knew how long they stood there like that. Neither spoke, words were not needed. Marius was the first to break the silence.

"'Ponine, I promise to protect you. I will never let your father or anybody else ever harm you. I promise to love you unconditionally until the day I die and even after. All I ask of you is one thing: Éponine Thénardier, will you marry me?" he asked her as he pulled the little black box out of his pocket and opened t. She pulled back and looked at him, her eyes wide. But then she started to smile. She pressed her lips to his.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "Yes, of course I'll marry you! A thousand times yes!" She kissed him again. Marius smiled widely and slipped the ring on to her finger. She said yes! They were going to get married! Neither Éponine nor Marius could ever remember feeling this happy.

The wedding was a beautiful ceremony. Many people attended, though most of them were people that Marius' grandfather knew. The wedding took place in a large cathedral that reminded Éponine of a castle.

Éponine looked absolutely stunning. Her reddish-brown hair was done up in an elegant bun. Her lips were painted a deep red and her eyelids and eyelashes were darkened by kohl. There was faint blush upon her cheeks that made her look like she was glowing, radiating happiness.

"I love you, Marius Pontmercy." Éponine whispered in his ear as they danced for the first time as husband and wife.

"I love you too, Éponine Pontmercy."

**I hope ya enjoyed it. It's a bit different from what I usually write since, y'know, it's not all depressing. Please review!**


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